Narsil achieved more than the other swords, but may not have caused the most physical trauma. It was used to cut off an [admittedly very powerful] finger. However, the importance of the cut came from the ring worn on that finger. So, it was the most *important* cut, but mostly because of the bravery of Isildur. Narsil + Isildur = a very important strike. If Isildur wielded Sting would things have gone differently?

Good question! I'm having a hard time separating the sword from the wielder. I want to say Anduril because of Aragorn, but I think you're right about Narsil - what Elendil achieved and Isildur finished (not to mention its possible 4,000 year history preceding that). Do we know the extent of Orcrist's accomplishments during the First Age as wielded by some lord of Gondolin? Its hoardmate Glamdring still seems to outclass it, being wielded first by Turgon and then Gandalf with at least one Balrog to its name. The combination of Merry's barrow blade and Eowyn's sword dispatched the Lord of the Nazgul, so that shouldn't be forgotten. And if it's purely death we're looking at, Beleg Strongbow's demise from Anglachel is one of the most tragic and he was worth more than any Balrog, but reforged Gurthang slew Glaurung and Turin! Ultimately, I really want to say Ringil, because of the wounds to Morgoth that Fingolfin inflected. And so that's where my vote goes. Ringil.

The threat of Sauron looms so large in the imagination that Isildur's severing of the Ring from his finger overshadows everything else in my mind, so I've voted for Narsil, too. It's possible I might change my vote upon further reflection.

Arok wrote: "Good question! I'm having a hard time separating the sword from the wielder. I want to say Anduril because of Aragorn, but I think you're right about Narsil - what Elendil achieved and Isildur fi..."Oh goodness how did I even forget Eowyn's sword! True, Merry's enchanted blade that stabbed the Witch King before Eowyn could take a shot at him is also noteworthy. I'll edit the poll

I think we should all be allowed to carry swords, but only if all citizen gun ownership was banned. It's an odd feeling walking around bad parts of DC often knowing that I'm the only unarmed person on the block.

Casey wrote: "Narsil achieved more than the other swords, but may not have caused the most physical trauma. It was used to cut off an [admittedly very powerful] finger. However, the importance of the cut came fr..."My take on this is that Isildur was not destined to wield Sting. The interesting thing is that Angrist, which was made by the same Dwarf smith who made Narsil, was wielded by Beren to cut that Silmaril off Morgoth's crown. So in a way the Beren-Angrist combination had a slightly similar experience as Isildur-Narsil. The wielders of these Dwarf-made blades were probably destined to trump the current Dark Lord. That dwarf seems to have been one master weaponsmith!

I'm going with Glamdring. It is not possible to slay a Balrog with shards of a broken sword or a Swiss Army knife. If Gandalf had not been able to get out of that situation then what would the rest of the fight against Sauron be like? Gandalf put it all together when no one else did, so if he did not kill the balrog with Glamdring, all would have failed.

I voted for Ringil, though, because Melkor, the most powerful of the Ainur, received seven wounds from it, plus one more that made him limp forever after. I'm not sure, but I think this was the first and only time a mortal inflicted a wound on him, which is really impressive (apart from a shard of Angrist, but it was an accident, I don't think it counts =P). Can someone confirm this?

Also of note is that Narsil/Anduril directly saved the Middle-Earth two times: first by cutting Sauron's finger, then by distracting his attention when Aragorn showed it to him by the palantir, making him act sooner than planned and giving a chance to Frodo to destroy the Ring.

I voted for the Witch-king's Morgul-blade, which he used to stab Frodo at Amon Sul. So the answer is "Un-named sword wielded by the Witch King of Angmar" It also killed Theoden.

The reason WHY it did "the most damage in the situation", well we find Frodo was never completely healed from his wound, it may be more a reference to the psychological as physical. Whatever it is, after the war and with all the happy endings, we find the Hero of the novel still suffers from that wound. So that's that.

I voted for the Witch-king's Morgul-blade, which he used to stab Frodo at Amon Sul. So the answer is "Un-named sword wielded by the Witch King of Angmar" It also killed Theoden.

The ..."

The book mentions Theoden's death from being crushed under his own horse. He was confronted by the Witch King, yes, but I am unable to find any evidence that says he was stabbed by a sword. I like your explanation about Frodo's wound. Some of the deepest wounds are indeed psychological.

John wrote: "Sting. Without it, Sam doesn't defeat Shelob and doesn't save Frodo. The ring would have gone back to Sauron."

But by that reasoning, we go back to Narsil (as forged by Telchar) - Narsil played a role in slaying Sauron's corporeal body at the end of the second age, and it cut the ring from Sauron's dead hand. Without the role Narsil had played 3,000 years earlier, Sting wouldn't have been able to help at all.

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